Running OpenGL from Apple today (2016)

I downloaded this which I learned of here. I double clicked the resulting file in the Downloads folder and that created a folder named “GLEssentials”. Therein I found a ‘file’ called “GLEssentials.xcodeproj”. It is really a folder but Mac’s Finder doesn’t show it as such as the user need not open it normally; it is an abstraction thing. (Xcode is free from Apple but there is a bit of formality which I did not find daunting. It is big. I have Xcode 7.2.1) In Finder, double clicking GLEssentials.xcodeproj launches Xcode if you have it installed. The first time I did this several Xcode windows appeared and one of them had a ► icon with a ‘start’ connotation. I clicked it and after flickering messages suggesting compilation there appeared underneath a window in a new application: “Simulator” which simulates an iPhone. Along the way a dialog box popped up asking me to allow it to continue doing ‘dangerous things’ without continually asking my permission. There is actually no Earthly reason why any dangerous things should be necessary to compile and debug code, but in Apple’s Mac OS there are. It showed a pretty good monster rotating for a 3D view.

The 2nd time I clicked on GLEssentials.xcodeproj I was shown short C file in an editor within Xcode. Clicking the ► icon had the same result as before.

I suppose that Apple presumes the user has at least some crude expectations for an IDE such as Xcode. Mine are crude but I worked thru it once before.